Free Republic

Tests found that the clients recently were infected with the same strain of the virus, "increasing the likelihood that the two HIV infections may have resulted from a procedure at the VIP Spa," the news release said. The spa, which shut down in September after a health inspection, offered "vampire facials," procedures in which plasma is extracted from a client's own blood, then injected into the patron's face, KRQE-TV reported.

US scientists say they used HIV to make a gene therapy that cured eight infants of severe combined immunodeficiency, or "bubble boy" disease. Results of the research, developed at a Tennessee hospital, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The babies, born with little to no immune protection, now have fully functional immune systems. Untreated babies with this disorder have to live in completely sterile conditions and tend to die as infants. The gene therapy involved collecting the babies' bone marrow and correcting the genetic defect in their DNA soon after their birth. The "correct" gene - used...

There’s at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors. The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 for a proposal called the Traditional Plan, which strengthens bans on LGBT-inclusive practices. A majority of U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBT-friendly options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the...

Researchers have found that among men, microbiomes differed based on whether they have sex with men or women. Gut microbiomes may differ based on whether men have sex with men or women, and the specific community of microbes in the guts of those who have sex with men are apparently associated with a higher risk of HIV.

FREDERICK, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Maryland man was knowingly transferring HIV to women he met on dating apps, according to officials. The Frederick Police Department said 34-year-old Rudolph Smith, of Frederick, was taken into custody on Monday after a 21-month long investigation. Authorities said they received a tip that Smith was actively having sexual relations with multiple women knowing that he was HIV positive.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis use to protect against HIV infection was associated with higher infection rates of other sexually transmitted diseases, according to a new study. An analysis in Australia found more than 2,900 sexually transmitted infections were diagnosed in nearly half of the study's participants from when they started using PrEP. Nearly 3,000 gay and bisexual men were given access to the medication. The study found infections per participant ranged from zero to 12. The study, published Tuesday in JAMA, found 25% of study participants had multiple infections that accounted for 76% of all infections diagnosed. The incidence of infections increased...

Two gay rights organizations filed suit Thursday in federal court in Tucson challenging the legality of what some call Arizona’s “no promo homo” law. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Equality Arizona and an unnamed Tucson gay student, says the law “facially discriminates against non-heterosexual students on the basis of sexual orientation and places them in an expressly disfavored class.” At issue is a section of the state education code that prohibits instruction that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” or “portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative life-style” when teaching about AIDS and HIV. That, according to attorneys, is unconstitutional because it...

Surgeons in Baltimore have performed what’s thought to be the world’s first kidney transplant from a living donor with HIV, a milestone for patients with the AIDS virus who need a new organ — and one that could free up space on the transplant waiting list for everyone. Nina Martinez of Atlanta traveled to Johns Hopkins University to donate a kidney to an HIV-positive stranger, saying she “wanted to make a difference in somebody else’s life” and counter the stigma that too often still surrounds HIV infection. […] “Here’s a disease that in the past was a death sentence and...

For the second time, doctors appear to have put HIV into “sustained remission” with a stem cell transplant — effectively curing the recipient. Their work, which was published in Nature and will be presented at the annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle on Tuesday, may encourage scientists working on new gene therapies based on similar principles and give hope to those living with the infection. The case comes nearly 10 years after Timothy Ray Brown announced he was the so-called “Berlin Patient” — the first person who was functionally cured of HIV and able to stop taking...

A federal judge ordered the Department of Defense to halt the pending discharge proceedings against two HIV-positive members of the U.S. Air Force, LGBTQ legal group Lambda Legal said Friday. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema approved a preliminary injunction because "the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in preventing their discharge through the lawsuit," according to a statement from Lambda Legal. Brinkema rejected the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss, allowing the airmen to continue serving until their case goes to trial. “This is a major victory in our fight to ensure everyone living with HIV can serve their country without discrimination,”...

Jemitias Denhere shakes his head as he explains why, despite being a specialist in soil management and crop production, he specializes in beef livestock. The district agronomist -- plants specialist -- owns 27 hectares of land in the Mwenezi area of southern Zimbabwe, a particularly arid location. Here, farmers endure extreme weather challenges such as drought and flash flooding -- and, thus, some of the highest food shortages. His cattle can exist on the little grass that remains during dry times, but to produce crops without irrigation is risky -- so he decided against it. "One year, you win; one...

When South Africa opened its books on the atrocities of the apartheid era in the 1990s, a tantalizing series of faded documents reignited one of the continent’s enduring mysteries. The records suggested that a white militia, operating with the support of the C.I.A. and British intelligence, orchestrated the 1961 plane crash that killed the United Nations secretary general, Dag Hammarskjold. Twenty years later, a team of documentary filmmakers set out to investigate the shadowy militia, known as the South African Institute for Maritime Research, and to determine whether it had really assassinated Mr. Hammarskjold. What they uncovered, if it is...

Study recruited young men over Craigslist and Grindr The National Institutes of Health is spending over $1.7 million on a virtual reality game for young men who have sex with men. "Tough Talks" is a virtual simulation that allows young gay men to practice how to tell their partner they have HIV, using virtual reality technology. A technology training company—Georgia-based Virtually Better, Inc.—as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies are creating the game. Sixty-seven percent of young gay men do not disclose their HIV status to...

The New Jersey surgery center that may have exposed more than 3,700 patients to HIV and hepatitis used rusty equipment and had soiled bed sheets, according to a report from the state's department of health. HealthPlus Surgery Center in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, was closed on Sept. 7 after the New Jersey Department of Health discovered multiple violations of sterilization and sanitation requirements, according to a citation summary sheet made public on Friday. The state allowed HealthPlus Surgery Center to reopen on Sept. 28... "We are aware of patients with pre-existing conditions such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C....

A House Committee Hears Our Clinton Foundation Scandal Evidence Obama’s State Department Worked to Undermine the Trump Administration Hillary Clinton Claims Her Email System Was for ‘Convenience’ Media Buries Key Facts to Conceal Migrant Health Threat — TB, Hepatitis, HIV A House Committee Hears Our Clinton Foundation Scandal Evidence When I was asked by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on Government Operations to testify this week about the Clinton Foundation, I knew the challenge would be organizing the vast trove of information we have accumulated through court action over the past several years. That evidence,...

Here’s a great example of the mainstream media distorting information to promote a liberal agenda, an act that is especially pervasive when it comes to immigration coverage. A story published by NBC news, and reiterated by various other outlets, claims illegal immigrants don’t bring disease into the United States. The headline reads: “Migrants don’t bring disease. In fact, they help fight it, report says.” The article focuses on a study commissioned by a medical journal called the Lancet and University College London. The finished product is titled “ Global patterns of mortality in international migrants: a systematic review and meta-analysis”...

UNAIDS, under fire over a mishandled sexual assault investigation, suffers from “a broken organizational culture,” where leaders fail “to accept responsibility” and fear among staff is rampant, an expert report said Friday. The Independent Expert Report was created by UNAIDS’ oversight body following a public uproar triggered by the agency’s handling of sexual assault allegations against former deputy executive director Luiz Loures. The findings, based on dozens of interviews and hundreds of staff surveys, said the agency tasked with coordinating the global response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic is led by a secretariat engulfed in “a crisis which threatens its vital...

Thousands of migrants associated with the caravan have been treated in Tijuana, Mexico for infectious diseases, ranging from simple respiratory infections to tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, according to a recent report from the border.

Earlier this month, health officials reported the sixth confirmed failure of PrEP globally. The latest instance involved a San Francisco man who was consistently taking the HIV-prevention medicine during the time he contracted the virus. PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, involves taking a Truvada pill once daily to stop HIV infection, and it is estimated to be nearly 100 percent effective. Despite these six failures since Truvada was first approved as an HIV-prevention medication back in 2012, Dr. Stephanie Cohen, the medical director at the San Francisco City Clinic, said — unequivocally — that PreP is working as expected. "Nothing is...

full title: Survivors of the tainted blood scandal are given as little as five seconds to explain the devastation it caused them Rosie Taylor and Ben Spencer Hundreds of survivors of a blood transfusion scandal in the 1970s and 80s have been denied the chance to tell their stories. File photo© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Hundreds of survivors of a blood transfusion scandal in the 1970s and 80s have been denied the chance to tell their stories. File photo Hundreds of survivors of the tainted blood scandal of the 1970s and 1980s are being denied a chance to tell...